Trell by Dick Lehr (2017, Candlewick Press; 320 pages) On a hot summer night in the late 1980s, in the Boston neighborhood of Roxbury, a fourteen-year-old African-American girl was sitting on a mailbox talking with her friends when she became the innocent victim of gang-related gunfire. Amid public outcry, an immediate manhunt was on to catch the murderer, and a young African-American man was quickly apprehended, charged, and — wrongly — convicted of the crime. Dick Lehr, a former writer for The Boston Globe's Spotlight team -- who worked on this story three decades ago -- writes the fascinating account of a teen who's father has been wrongfully incarcerated. Based on true events, the story, though directed towards a younger audience, has a thoroughly intriguing plot that draws the reader in. Find this title in our catalog: Trell Recommended by: Ariadne
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DEAR MARTIN -- a raw, captivating, and undeniably real novel about race relations in America9/1/2017 Dear Martin by Nic Stone (2017, Crown Books For Young Readers; 224 pages) This is one of those books that feels like it "matters." It is a novel written with humor and emotion, which tells a story with a message that is relevant to everyone, and it is a book that confronts America's race problem in a brave way, diving right into the heart of the matter. The author is able to write about this important and painfully timely theme with humor and elegance and also with, somehow, a voice that is raw and fresh, thanks to a credible character named Justyce McAllister, a modern black teenager in America. Justyce McAllister is a seventeen year-old senior and full-scholarship student at the Braselton Preparatory Academy. He is also the debate team captain and he is ranked fourth in his class. He has grown up in what is considered a "bad" area, but everyone around him agrees he has a bright future ahead. The first chapter in the book puts things into a different context when, Justyce winds up in handcuffs whle trying to help a former girlfriend. That painful moment becomes Justyce's epiphany, and a pivotal point on his life. From there, his life rotates around a conversation with Dr. Martin Luther King, a conversation that he keeps in writing. What would Dr. King say and do if he were living in our present social climate, and how would his teachings hold up today are the questions that Nic Stone had on the table when writing this book. Justyce´' journey is somehow an answer. More than an answer, the reader will find out that sometimes there are no answers, but there are points, like the one that compels a person to find the courage to ask the questions in the first place. This book matters, and it is relevant. Recommended to everyone trying to understand America's race problem. Publication date: Oct. 17, 2017 Recommended by: Maite Monster by Walter Dean Myers (2004, Amistad; 281 pages) "Monster" is what the prosecutor called 16-year-old Steve Harmon for his supposed role in the fatal shooting of a convenience-store owner. But was Steve really the lookout who gave the "all clear" to the murderer, or was he just in the wrong place at the wrong time? This New York Times bestselling novel from acclaimed author Walter Dean Myers tells the haunting story of a teenage boy in juvenile detention and on trial. Presented as a screenplay of Steve's own imagination, and peppered with journal entries, the book shows how one single decision can change our whole lives. Myers' writing makes the reader question the motives of the characters, and allows the reader to think as if they were a member of the jury. Monster is a multi-award-winning, provocative coming-of-age story that was the first-ever Michael L. Printz Award recipient, an ALA Best Book, a Coretta Scott King Honor selection, and a National Book Award finalist. In 2016, Monster was turned into a film starring Jennifer Hudson, Kelvin Harrison, Jr., and A$AP Rocky. Find this title in our catalog: Monster Recommended by: Ariadne Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz (2014, Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers; 368 pages) It's the summer of 1987 when 15-year-olds Aristotle and Dante meet. Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending time together, they discover that they share a special friendship—the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. And it is through this friendship that Ari and Dante will learn the most important truths about themselves and the kind of people they want to be. From Booklist: "Family issues take center stage, as well as issues of Mexican identity, but the heart of the novel is Dante’s openness about his homosexuality and Ari’s suppression of his." Saenz's story of friendship forces the reader to better know themselves, and encapsulates what it feels like to be a miserable, jaded teenager. Find this title in our catalog: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe Recommended by: Ariadne The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie (2007, Little, Brown Books For Young Readers; 259 pages) Sherman Alexie profoundly captures the hardship of living and growing up on a reservation. Alexie tells the story of Arnold Spirit, aka Junior, a budding cartoonist born with "water on the brain," growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Determined to take his future into his own hands, Junior leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot. Expecting disaster when he transfers from the reservation school to the rich, white school, Junior soon finds himself making friends with both geeky and popular students and starting on the basketball team. Meeting his old classmates on the court, Junior grapples with questions about what constitutes one's community, identity, and tribe. The daily struggles of reservation life and the tragic deaths of several in Junior's life would be all but unbearable without the humor and resilience of spirit with which he faces the world. This book provides a sobering perspective, and an entertaining story. Heartbreaking, funny, and beautifully written, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian chronicles the contemporary adolescence of one Native American boy as he attempts to break away from the life he was destined to live. Find this title in our catalog: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian Recommended by: Ariadne Stealing Indians by John Smelcer (2016, Leapfrog Press; 200 pages) “In 1950, four Indian teenagers, from very different parts of America, are taken from their families, their lives immutably changed by an institution designed to eradicate their identity, to make them into something else - to make them less Indian. And no matter where they came from - north, south, east or west - their stories are representative of every story, every stolen life.“ Far from home, without family to protect them, they will have to count on friends to help them endure. The author says that the book is a work of fiction but that every word is true. Filled with tales of courage, friendship, love, pain and endurance, this is the story of Lucy Secondchief, Simon Lone Fight, Noah Boyscout and Elijah High Horse. Their tales and stories will resonate with young Alaskan readers but it is important to keep in mind that the story has a lack of tribal specificity and maybe because of that, it feels there are an abundance of stereotypes. There may be some problems also with accuracy with respect to time periods in which the story occurs. These notes should probably be part of a post-reading discussion. The book in fact includes a “questions for discussion” section that offers a historical context to the storytelling. Questions related to the residential Indian boarding school experiment that lasted from 1879 until the 60's, or to the deaths of thousands of Indian children due to diseases to which they had no previous immunity, or those related to practices to eradicate elements that sustain the identity of a person, like the haircuts that Indian boys received almost immediately when they arrived to the boarding schools are included and are necessary to be talked about. Find this title in our catalog: Stealing Indians Recommended by: Maite Full Cicada Moon by Marilyn Hilton (2015, Dial Books; 343 pages) Though it takes some time to get accustomed to reading in verse, the author delivers the powerful story of a biracial girl growing up in the late 1960s. It's 1969, and the Apollo 11 mission is getting ready to go to the moon. But for half-black, half-Japanese Mimi, moving to a predominantly white Vermont town is enough to make her feel alien. Suddenly, Mimi's appearance is all anyone notices. She struggles to fit in with her classmates, even as she fights for her right to stand out by entering science competitions and joining Shop Class instead of Home Ec. And even though teachers and neighbors balk at her mixed-race family and her refusals to conform, Mimi’s dreams of becoming an astronaut never fade—no matter how many times she’s told no. Marilyn Hilton does an excellent job of mimicking the mind of the narrator, and allows the reader to better empathize with the problems faced by the young protagonist. Find this title in our catalog: Full Cicada Moon Recommended by: Ariadne Solo by Kwame Alexander with Mary Rand Hess (2017, Blink; 464 pages) Seventeen year-old Blade Morrison is used to reading about his father's life on scathing tabloid covers. They serve as a constant reminder of his dad's struggles with addiction to almost every type of drug and alcohol. Written in poetic verse by award-winning author Kwame Alexander, this premise works very well, and Solo soars, becoming a perfect read for those who love poetry, music and stories with strong beginnings and somehow happy endings. This verse novel is truly a love letter to rock and roll and from the first page the reader will be holding up a guitar, the only thing “that matters” for Solo, besides his love for Chapel. Solo is haunted by memories of his mother, and lost on his father's mistakes. His only hope is music, and the forbidden love of his girlfriend. The reader will learn about those topics in the first part of the novel that ends with a climax when a family secret is revealed. The secret threatens Solo's world, his relationship with his family and even his own identity and because of that, he begins a journey, both physical and symbolic that will be the center of the second part of the book. The setting of this second part is West Africa, and it is my favorite part of the book. Solo is narrated through the voice of the protagonist and the author takes special help in delivering an intimate, intricate and poetic voice. Alexander wrote the book in the company of author and poet Mary Rand Hess. Kwame Alexander himself is a poet, speaker, educator, and New York Times bestselling author of 24 books, including The Crossover, a 2015 John Newbery Medal for the Most Distinguished Contribution to American Literature for Children. Although the book is marketed for older teens, mature tweens may also enjoy the story. Recommended to those who enjoy strong poetic voices, and stories that work on self searching, and on looking for answers about identity, family, and love. The heart is a small and lonesome place she is a country her eyes hold the river I used to swim her skin, the morning fruit I touched and tasted the heart is a small and lonesome place she is a country I no longer live in. Solo This title will be released in August, 2017 Recommended by: Maite THE SERPENT KING -- a funny and utterly heartbreaking story about friendship, family and forgiveness2/14/2017 The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner (2016, Crown Books For Young Readers; 384 pages) This book is a touching coming-of-age story of three high school seniors, misfits and best friends. Written with a powerful and elegant voice by Jeff Zentner, the reader will automatically get involved in the stories of Dill, Travis and Lydia. None of them feel at home in Forrestville, a small Tennessee town named after the founder of the Ku Klux Klan. Dill has had to wrestle with vipers all his life. He is the only son of a Pentecostal minister who urges him to handle poisonous rattlesnakes. He also faces down bullies at school who target him for his father's extreme faith and very public fall from grace. Lydia is the lucky one, the girl with loving, supportive and prosperous parents who have given her the tools to create a popular blog about fashion and the opportunity of a college life in New York City. Travis, the third protagonist, deals with a difficult situation at home, with a drunk father who beats him up, and his own heartbreak over his brother's death. He escapes from his reality with the help of a fictional fantasy world and the sweetness of his mother. The book is written in third-person chapters that alternate among the three characters, and the author is able to cover the whole of their senior year, the desire to follow their dreams, the fear to do so, the courage to survive their own realities, the complexity of wanting to go and to stay. The novel has many strengths: great characters, extraordinary dialogue, and the description of the rural South are among them. The story, with its heartbreak and hopeful conclusion, are also strengths, as are the many opportunities that the novel offers to speak up about faith, fears of the unknown, and the courage it takes to survive. Excellent choice for those who are voracious searchers of real voices in young adult literature. You won't be able to put the book down until you finish it. Find this title in our catalog: The Serpent King Recommended by: Maite The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis (2016, Katherine Tegen Books; 352 pages) A brutal and ferocious story, the type of story that won't let you go, this is the story of Alex Craft who knows how to kill someone. She learns how to kill someone after her sister, Anna, was murdered and the killer walked free. Alex has relegated herself to a life of loneliness, but then Jack Fisher – star athlete and valedictorian-- shows an interest in getting to know her. And then, Peekay - the defiant preacher´s kid - will also get tangled up in her life when they both volunteer together at an animal shelter. We read the story of the events that occur after a night partying together, when Alex's darker side breaks out, through three alternating perspectives. The book is best for older teens and/or mature readers. There is violence against women and violence against animals too, but they are part of a haunting depiction of loss, love, revenge, and friendship. It is an extraordinary book, one that deserves to be read, shared and talked about. "McGinnis grabs the reader by the jugular with her first seven words and doesn't let go until Alex's story has been masterfully told. Layer by layer we come to know, if not understand, this young woman who has survived one of life's greatest tragedies. Her secrets may have protected her but cannot save her, and healing is not an option. Alex in all her complexity will not soon leave your mind or heart." -- Saddy Oddi, owner and manager, Cover to Cover Bookstore, Columbus, OH. Find this title in our catalog: The Female of the Species Recommended by: Maite |
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March 2018
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